View full sizeHollyn Johnson | Flint JournalDr. Roland Tindle talks with Grand Blanc resident, Louise Bachmann as he examines her ears during a regular check up at the Complete Care Center in Grand Blanc Thursday afternoon. The center has created a membership plan called Health Share Plan that provides a low cost health care to uninsured patients.

GRAND BLANC, Michigan — Two years ago, Sandra Reisig was willing to die rather than face hospitalization, despite the fact her blood pressure had sky-rocketed to life-threatening levels requiring immediate medical attention.

It wasn’t a question of fear. It was a matter of money.

“I didn’t have insurance. There was no way I could afford that,” said Reisig, 61, of Mt. Morris Township. “Plus I take care of my 81-year-old mom. I barely make my bills. Go to the hospital? I’d die first.”

In fact, for months Reisig had avoided going to a doctor at all, for fear of what that visit might cost her.

It’s an alarming situation that’s become all too familiar to primary care physicians — but one Grand Blanc medical practice is doing something about it, by creating their own membership health care plan.

“A couple years ago we started noticing people who could no longer afford insurance had stopped coming in for any kind of office visit,” said Dr. Roland Tindle, medical director of the Complete Care Center in Grand Blanc.

By 2003, more than 1,200 patients within the practice were without health insurance — and a growing number were like Reisig, who had become critically ill from delaying treatment.

“It was only when they got really sick that they would come in. By then it was a real task to bring them back to health without spending a lot more money than it would have cost in the first place,” said Tindle. “They were train wrecks when they came in the door.

“We had to ask ourselves: What do we need to do to keep these people out of the emergency room? That’s the highest priced medicine in America.”

So Tindle and his fellow practitioners did their legal homework and came up with an innovative way to cut patients’ health care costs to a fraction of the cost for individual health insurance plans.

HealthSharePlan is not health insurance. It is a membership program that provides an unlimited number of office visits — including lab tests, X-ray and EKG — for $10 a visit.

Low-cost prescription drugs are available for nearly every condition from a list of 400 generics.

“If people can’t handle a generic and have to go to a brand name, we help with that too,” said Tindle. “Every drug company has a free or sliding scale program but it’s a maze that’s so difficult to get through, most people give up. Our staff works through that maze for you.”

HealthSharePlan now has more than 250 members, at an individual membership cost of $39 a month. The program has expanded to include alliances with other local health care providers, providing discounts on services including dental, vision, physical therapy, outpatient surgery and chiropractic care.

It’s all significantly reduced the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits required by the clinic’s patients, Tindle said — but he encourages people to do their research before signing up. Too often, he said, similar-sounding plans are actually insurance scams in disguise.

“They get people by advertising these low rates yet people don’t look that one step further to find out what they don’t tell you is the maximum benefit they’ll pay out for the entire year is something ridiculous like $250. That’s the new gotcha,” said Tindle. “There have been so many shams advertised out there, people are used to things being too good to be true. But in this case it’s true.”

It’s not about making money, he said. It’s about helping people stay healthy. And he’s hoping to convince other physicians to structure similar programs.

“We’d like to see this replicated across the state, and are willing to show other doctors how to set this up so they can do this for their uninsured patients without losing money.”

Still want that extra safety net? Hospitalization-only insurance plans are available through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, that can cost as little as $49 a month for those age 30 or younger.

It’s a great option for small business owners who can’t afford to provide health care coverage for their employees, said Dan Rozboril, co-owner of Dust Busters Restoration Services in Burton and Environmental Technologies of Michigan.

“Complete Care Center is essentially a one-stop shop because you don’t have to wait a long time and they have their own lab, x-ray equipment and emergency medical services,” said Rozboril, who has sent employees there rather than a hospital for treatment with work-related accidents.

He’s now encouraging his 17 employees to join, he said, and hopes eventually to offer help paying for it as a employee benefit.

As for Reisig? The self-employed life coach signed up for HealthSharePlan on her first visit to Complete Care Center two years ago. It’s enabled her to afford regular monitoring and medication even on her limited income, she said.

“Today I’ve lost 50 pounds and my blood pressure and cholesterol levels are normal. They saved my life. I could never pay them back,” said Reisig. “I still can’t afford hospital insurance so I’m taking all the precautions I can to stay well. Thanks to them, I’ve been able to do that.”